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58 Part One Organizations, Management, and the Networked Enterprise

Important managerial complementary assets are strong senior management
support for change, incentive systems that monitor and reward individual
innovation, an emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, training programs,
and a management culture that values flexibility and knowledge.
Important social investments (not made by the firm but by the society at
large, other firms, governments, and other key market actors) are the Internet
and the supporting Internet culture, educational systems, network and comput-
ing standards, regulations and laws, and the presence of technology and service
firms.
Throughout the book we emphasize a framework of analysis that considers
technology, management, and organizational assets and their interactions.
Perhaps the single most important theme in the book, reflected in case studies
and exercises, is that managers need to consider the broader organization and
management dimensions of information systems to understand current
problems as well as to derive substantial above-average returns from their infor-
mation technology investments. As you will see throughout the text, firms that
can address these related dimensions of the IT investment are, on average,
richly rewarded.

1.3 CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO INFORMATION

SYSTEMS

The study of information systems is a multidisciplinary field. No single theory
or perspective dominates. Figure 1.9 illustrates the major disciplines that con-
tribute problems, issues, and solutions in the study of information systems.
In general, the field can be divided into technical and behavioral approaches.
Information systems are sociotechnical systems. Though they are composed
of machines, devices, and “hard” physical technology, they require substan-
tial social, organizational, and intellectual investments to make them work
properly.

TECHNICAL APPROACH
The technical approach to information systems emphasizes mathematically
based models to study information systems, as well as the physical technology
and formal capabilities of these systems. The disciplines that contribute to the
technical approach are computer science, management science, and operations
research.
Computer science is concerned with establishing theories of computabil-
ity, methods of computation, and methods of efficient data storage and access.
Management science emphasizes the development of models for decision-mak-
ing and management practices. Operations research focuses on mathematical
techniques for optimizing selected parameters of organizations, such as trans-
portation, inventory control, and transaction costs.

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

An important part of the information systems field is concerned with behavioral
issues that arise in the development and long-term maintenance of information
systems. Issues such as strategic business integration, design, implementation,
utilization, and management cannot be explored usefully with the models used

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